Untitled
by IcesY
Summary: The time of the Second World War, has touched and altered the lives of many people in the world today. Some cultures and some families history and how the live today where changed by events during that war torn time. Please journey back to 1940, with me a


Another Type of Love

By: Ices

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I don't own Sailor moon, never did never will. I've used the American names for this story to make it work for the time frame and location.

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This story is dedicated to my Grandfather George McDowell 1924-1996, and my grandmother Jonnie McDowell

This story is based on a true story from my own past in WWII, it also has some scenes in German and I will translate thoses later. You can get the general idea what is being said though.

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Pennsylvania 1940

"Darien, you will go to that recruiter tomorrow! It's your duty as an American to defend your country!" an angry voice yelled at the cowering teenager.

"But Father, I'm only sixteen!" Darien replied in a shaking voice as he held his bruised ribs.

"It doesn't matter! I've taken care of the age problem; no son of mine will shirk his patriotic duty!" Amos Shield pulled out a small sheaf of papers and handed them to the quaking Darien.

Darien took the papers in a trembling hand and opened them. He stared at a forged birth certificate with his name on it that proclaimed him to be eighteen years old. He felt his blood run cold at the thought. He knew that the recruiters didn't pay that close attention to what the paper work said. They were desperate for new troops and often took boys that were younger than the legal age. Darien remembered his own friend Daniel being escorted from his home by his father and a recruiter.

He looked up into the set face of his father and knew that arguing further would only cause one of them more pain, namely Darien. Amos was not above beating his son into compliance. Darien hung his head thinking of his girlfriend Molly, picturing her kind green eyes and red hair. He wondered if he'd ever see her again.

Amos stared down at his son's black hair a flicker of compassion lighting his dark eyes. He wished he could make the boy understand that this was for the best; it would make a man out of him.

"Go get some rest Darien. I'll drive you to the recruitment office early in the morning so you can catch the bus," he said softly as he watched as Darien moved into his room.

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Two months later

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Darien stared at the training field at the other men. There were some boys really some his age or barely older. His father's forged documents had done the trick, and in the past two months, Darien had been training along side other boys in the art of warfare. His commanding officer had informed him that he would be learning how to become a belly gunner today. The squad had been divided into four groups. He glanced at the members of his group, his hands playing with his mask line nervously. He thought fleetingly of Molly and winced at the memory, he had barely had the time to send her a letter telling her where he had gone. He would give anything to be in her arms and not standing at attention while listening to the drill sergeant.

"In fifteen minutes, the five of you will board that bomber and take off. You will practice touch down exercises and target shooting for the next four hours. You will learn to love your position on the plane because you will be stuck there four hours a day for the next month!" the sergeant said in a loud, carrying voice. "Now you will get to know your crew. Knowing their names and voices will probably save your ass some day!"

Darien flinched and looked at the man next to him. He had short cropped brown hair and vibrant green eyes. The other three of their crew were standing a bit behind them. One had blond hair so light it appeared almost silver in the sun, and he had icy blue eyes that seemed to stare through them. Darien quaked in his boots slightly and almost jumped out of his skin when the brown haired boy turned to him, offering his hand.

"I'm Nathaniel Owens, chain gunner and medical aid specialist," he offered with a welcoming smile.

Darien looked up into the kind, green eyes and a shaky smile spread over his trembling lips, "Darien Shields, belly gunner." He shook Nathaniel's hand and quickly went back to fretting with the closures on his uniform.

"A pleasure to meet you Dare, you can call me Nate. This is Malcolm Winters, my older brother Jared Owens and Zachary Johnson," Nate said, motioning to the other three men standing with them. They each nodded in turn and offered him a smile and handshake.

Darien noticed that Malcolm's eyes warmed when he smiled, and he let out a contained breath as he shook the pilot's hand, then the hand of Jared, who it would seem was the co-pilot, and finally Zachary's hand, who was the radio specialist. The sound of the sergeant's voice telling them to board the plane caused Darien to pale dramatically and sway where he stood. Nathaniel slapped him sharply on the back and draped an arm around his shoulders, leading him toward the large bomber.

"These exercises are a piece of cake Dare. Don't look so scared," Nate said in a friendly voice, trying to ease the younger man's nerves.

Darien swallowed hard and forced a smile to his lips. If he stayed with this team permanently he could do this; they seemed friendly enough.

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Three months later, London

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Darien walked into the officers club and looked around at the crowded room. He let out a sigh wondering how he had let the others convince him into coming here tonight. Not that he could blame them. In two weeks they would be heading out again, as soon as Malcolm's injury was fully healed. The white haired pilot had taken a bullet and glass shards into his shoulder. One of the Nazi planes had blown out the windshield of the plane. They had been low enough to land and one of their allies had gotten the enemy plane off their tail. He looked around a moment longer before walking down the three steps onto the dance floor.

"Dare you're late. We were beginning to think you weren't coming," Nate said, moving into view his arm slung over the shoulders of a leggy brunette who was giggling. She had bright green eyes that were slightly glazed over by too much drink.

Darien grinned widely at Nate, "And you think I would miss the chance of seeing you act dumb over all the women in here?" He replied back and smiled at the girl bowing slightly over her hand.

Nate made a face then grinned widely, "Dare this is my squeeze, Lita," Nate explained, motioning to the brunette that he was hanging off of. "Lita, my love, this is Darien Shields, the best belly gunner the US army has to offer."

Darien just shook his head at his friend and nodded to the girl once more before looking through the crowd. He saw Malcolm, Zach, and Jared waving him toward a table. He glanced at Nate.

"The guys apparently want me to join them. I'll see you a bit later, I'm sure," he said and waved over his shoulder to the couple as he made his way across the dance floor. to the table.

Once there, he realized that each of his other friends had a girl with them and he suddenly felt like an extra on a double date. He studied the girls smiling as he was introduced to Jared's date Raye, a woman with long black hair, Malcolm's date Mina, a blond bubbly sort , and Zach's date Ami, a woman with short black hair and a serious look to her eyes. He noticed another blond that had the look of Mina sitting at the end of the booth and blinked slightly. She had long hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, bright sapphire blue eyes that dance with mischief, full red lips that just seemed to be waiting for a mans kisses, and a milky white complexion marred only by an enchanting dusting of freckles.

Darien realized that he had been staring at the girl when the others at the table began to chuckle and point at him. He flushed to his hair line and offered the woman his hand, smiling sheepishly.

"Hello Miss, my name is Darien Shields," he said trying to force down the blush that was still showing on his face.

Serena had been thinking about leaving. Her sister Mina and friends had convinced her to come to the officers club. She didn't want to be here though, she had work to do before tomorrow and a paper to study for. She had been ready to leave when another man had come to the table; he had short cropped black hair that fell over his forehead and slightly into his midnight colored eyes. She stared at his hand a moment then placed her trembling one into his.

"Hello, I'm Serena Thomas, Mina's sister," she said in a husky voice that sounded nothing like her normal voice.

"A lovely name for an enchanting girl," Darien said softly and lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to it lightly. He smiled when he saw her blush charmingly. The band began to play a quickstep song and Darien smiled at Serena, "Would you like to dance?"

Serena swallowed hard and nodded, smiling at Darien as he led her out onto the dance floor. She almost wished it had been a slow song so they could talk or maybe so she could rest her head against his shoulder and sway along with him. She was drawn to the tall American, like none of the GI's had drawn her in the past. Sooner than she would have liked, the fast strains of the music ended and she and Darien stood staring at each other across the span of a few feet.

"Thank you for the dance, Serena," Darien said, not wanting to go back to the table where the others were.

"You're welcome Darien." Serena said softly, grinning as a slow song starts. "Would you like to dance again?"

In answer, Darien pulled Serena into his arms. A fleeting thought and flash of guilt enters entered him as he thought of Molly. Then he forgot it as he focused on the warm body in his arms and her gentle breath on his neck. In reality Darien knew there was nothing left between him and Molly. He had changed too much in the past five months. He was far from the nervous boy he had been then.

Serena snuggled closer to Darien's chest as the music wrapped around them, making her feel like they were the only two people in existence at the moment. She felt safe and loved in Darien's arms, like no one would be able to bring sadness into her world, but she knew it was a lie.

As if to prove Serena's thoughts, the band came to a loud halt as the sound of air raid sirens went off outside. She jerked back from Darien, her eyes wide with fright. Darien's head jerked up at the sound. Then he looked into Serena's blue eyes and smiled warmly, trying to still the woman's fear though his own heart beat like a trapped thing beneath his ribs. He led her back to the table where the others were standing and hurriedly picking up their belongings.

"We should get the ladies to the shelter and head to the base," Malcolm said, standing while favoring his injured arm.

Everyone agreed and the five men ushered the women from the club and down the streets. The ground shook with the force of the explosions as they hurried along. Lita stumbled slightly as an explosion shook the next block. Nate caught her into his arms and hurried along while she hid her head against his chest. A short walk brought them to the neighborhood bomb shelter and the guys escorted the women inside.

Darien and Serena stood wide eyed as the people flowed around them. Fear clutched at Serena's heart knowing that Darien was going to join the fighting. She impulsively threw herself into his arms and clung to him, pressing a kiss to his closed mouth.

"I want to see you again. Don't get yourself killed Darien Shields!" She said, then allowed Mina and Raye to drag her down the steps passed the waiting GI into the shelter.

Darien nodded to Serena and, once the door to the shelter clanged shut, he lifted a hand to his lips that were still warm from her kiss. He flushed at the looks his friends were giving him then turned and hopped into the jeep that Nate had fetched. It was going to be a long night, but he had something to look forward to in the morning, assuming he survived until then.

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Inside the shelter, the five friends huddled together trying to get their own space in the cramped building, Serena was blushing hotly at her brazen actions while her sister and friends stared at her goofy grins on all their faces.

"So, little Serena has a boyfriend," Mina taunted her sister, laughing softly.

Raye, Ami, and Lita made cat calls and whooped.

Serena glared at them trying to keep a grin off her face. "So what if I do? It would appear that all of you do as well."

Each of the other women blushed just as deeply as Serena had and broke out into giggles. Each of them knew that they were trying to think or concentrate on anything except the sound of the sirens above and the explosions that rocked the shelter, or of the five men that had left them to join in the fight if they were able.

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Almost two weeks later

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Darien walked down the street his arm hung over Serena's shoulder, he had a bandage around his head from a piece of metal that had cut through his scalp narrowly missing his temple. He glanced down at the blond at his side feeling the familiar warmth spread through him and from being close to her. Serena glanced up at him and then smiled widely with all the love she felt for Darien shining in her eyes. In the past two weeks, they had become very close, spending almost all their free time with each other.

Darien stopped under a street light and pulled Serena around to face him. She looked up at him again with loving eyes and stood on tiptoe to meet his lips as they descended in a deep, passionate kiss. He was caught by a shiver of premonition as he kissed her, and suddenly he became fierce almost frightened as he continued to ravish her mouth, deepening the kiss. After a moment they pulled apart, lust and love glazing their eyes.

"Serena, stay with me tonight, please. I need something to keep my thoughts warm after I leave tomorrow," Darien said in a husky voice.

Serena paused a moment, and then nodded almost to herself and as she lifted a hand to smooth back the lock of hair that always fell into Darien's eyes. "I will Darien. I love you," she said softly.

Darien's heart seemed to constrict, and he pulled Serena into his arms, kissing her again as his hands sliding slid down her back to cup her buttocks. He lifted her against his body.

"I love you, too," he whispered

Pulling apart again, the couple realized that they had stopped outside a hotel. Shyly, they moved into the building and rented a room. Soon they were standing alone in the hotel room, seemingly suddenly nervous. Then, slowly, Serena slipped the straps of her dress from her shoulders. It fell, bunching at her slender hips to fall then to her feet. As she stood there in her bra and panties, Darien's breath caught in his throat. He moved and then lifted her into his arms laying her gently on to the bed. He stared down at her, then slowly lowered his mouth to hers.

"I love you…" he said again.

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The next day

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Darien swung himself down into the belly gunners bubble as Malcolm and Jared went over the take off checks. He patted his flight jacket and removed a picture of Serena and him at a fair taken a few days before. He kissed the picture then taped it to the side window of the bubble and closed his eyes as small smile playing over his lips. Early this morning, after he and Serena had made love once more, he had asked her to marry him and she had said yes. A fleeting picture of Molly entered his mind but with it only came a sense of friendship with his high school girlfriend.

He leaned back as the plane started down the runway and looked up at Nate, who was loading the chain gun above him. His friend, he was sure, had the same sated besotted look that Darien wore on his own face. He knew that his friends had become close to Serena's friends in the two weeks they had been in London. He hoped for a group wedding once the war was over. They wouldn't think about anything sooner because they didn't know if they would survive though none of them said it allowed.

As the plane gained altitude, Darien focused his eyes on the sky behind the plane. An uneasy feeling like he had had the night before coming over him. After an hour though, he began to relax and started a conversation with Nate.

"I asked Serena to marry me last night," he said, fighting a blush.

Nate glanced down at Darien, a grin spreading over his handsome face. "So the wind blows that way, does it?"

Darien nodded, grinning widely at his friend. "And how about you Nate? Lita seemed to be with you as often and Serena and I were together." To Darien's surprise, Nate blushed and looked away.

"I asked her to consider my proposal, but told her that it would have to wait until after the war… I didn't want to leave her a widow if the worst happened." Nate admitted, then continued to check over his gun.

Darien nodded agreement. "Yeah, I told Serena the same thing."

"Keep your eyes focused and your mouths closed back there. We have company," Malcolm's voice came over the radio.

Darien sat up stiffly and eyed the three enemy planes coming up on them. They appeared to be flying past, and Darien released a captured breath thinking that maybe they would be lucky and they hadn't been spotted. A few minutes more, he didn't see an answer to his wishes as the planes turned in his direction. He reached up and gave Nate a thumbs up for luck as they prepared for battle.

The burst of machine gun fire flew toward them, pinking into the armored sides of the plane. The large bomber shuddered with the assault as Darien carefully took aim and let a burst go from his own double guns. His seat swiveled as he tried to keep the enemy planes in sight. The burst fire from Nate's chain gun above offered little comfort to him. The uneasy feeling was once again upon them. The enemy planes made another pass, and again Darien targeted and fired his arms shaking with the recoil from his guns.

Nates' cussing came over the radio, causing him to glance up for a second before focusing again on the planes. They had taken one of them down. Two left, he let a burst of fire forth as they passed again. The bomber rolled to avoid the enemy's guns as Jared and Malcolm worked to shake the enemy.

"Nate what is it?" Jared voice came strained over the radio.

"The gun jammed. I'm getting the backup set, but they keep coming," Nates's terse reply came.

"Zach, see if you can help him. Use the mini gun for now. We need to shake them," Malcolm's command came over as again the plane rolled to avoid fire.

Darien's left gun spun empty causing him to cuss himself, as he moved to climb from the bubble and run to the ammo storage. He glanced at a frantic Zach trying to mount the back up chain gun while Nate tried to keep the enemy at bay with the mini gun.

"Darien, we need your cover fire!" Jared yelled back to him.

"I need to reload. I only have one gun at ten percent, Jared!" Darien yelled back, picking up the ammo and rushing back to his bubble rapidly loading the guns.

An anguished cry from the front of the plane caused the hair to stand up on the back of his neck.

"Jared!" Nate yelled and moved toward his brother almost retching when he saw the spatter of bullet holes across his brothers' chest.

Jared coughed, then grimaced and looked up with green eyes to Nate. "Looks like I won't be able to marry Raye after all. Tell her I'm sorry, little brother…" he said, then his head lolled to the side; he was dead.

Nate let out a cry and clung to his brother.

"Nate get back to your gun!" Malcolm yelled, trying not to think about his best friend dead in the seat next to him.

When Nate continued to hold Jared, Malcolm reached over and grabbed the younger man's coat, yanking on his arm. "Nate now!"

Nate turned anguished eyes on Malcolm, then shook his head roughly and nodded moving back to the newly mounted chain gun. Zach looked at his friend then placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and moved, gently un-strapping Jared from the seat and moving him to the floor of the plane taking up the co-pilots seat to help Malcolm. Darien spared a glance up at Nates' shocked face then growled and let loose another spray of gunfire. One of the enemy planes went down but bullets pierced the belly gunners bubble, and he cried out when his left arm was peppered with bullet wounds.

"Dare are you alright?" Nate and Malcolm's voices came over the radio.

"I can still fire, just going to have to do it one handed," he said between clenched teeth.

Soon, the last plane made a pass over them and Malcolm rolled the bomber to avoid the spray. The maneuver wasn't fast enough and bullets striking the plane could be heard. Before he knew what was happening, a large explosion shook the bomber and Darien looked up to ask if everything was alright. He found himself staring up into empty sky and a flaming ball of debris. His eyes widened in horror; the plane had been shot out from above him. He felt suspended for a moment in the air then his bubble began to fall. Quickly un-strapping himself, he shoved free of the glass and pulled his chute.

What seemed like an eternity later found him on the ground in a large field of what appeared to be a farm. He reached to his radio to call and shook his head looking up at the falling plane. There was no hope that his friends had survived. He swayed where he stood and looked down at his arm, having forgotten momentarily that he had been injured. Slowly, he crumbled where he stood, loosing consciousness before he hit the ground.

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London nine months later

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Serena smiled softly at her friends and fought back tears; she knew that they were all fighting back their own tears. She held her infant daughter in her arms. She had just been through labor after having been bed ridden for the last three months of her pregnancy. After she and her friends had found out what had happened to arch angel squad. She closed her eyes at the pain the thought brought to her. Darien was dead… his plane had been reported as shot down over Germany. She opened her eyes again to see Mina standing, looking down at the small blond baby. Mina had miscarried her own pregnancy shortly after hearing of Malcolm's death.

The other girls hadn't even known that Mina had been pregnant, apparently Mina hadn't known either. They had all lost half of their heart the day the news had come in, and yet Serena still had her daughter Renee , her little piece of Darien. She closed her eyes once more as Mina lifted the sleeping baby from her arms and placed her in the crib next to Serena's hospital bed. Serena could remember well the feeling of dread she had had the night she and Darien had made love. Serena swallowed hard and opened her eyes, blinking past the tears. She turned her head on her pillow to look at her daughter. She would go on for Renee, and tell her when she was older about her father.

She had too…

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Germany, almost a year later

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Darien opened his eyes wishing with all his might that the past almost two years had been a nightmare; he stared around the small stinking cell he shared with nine other people and closed his eyes again. Fever wracked his body, and his dreams were filled of Serena. Oh, if only he could touch her just once more, just a taste of her soft sweet lips. A shudder went through him and he started to cough, blood bubbling on his lips. One of his fellow prisoners supported him while he coughed. He looked up into the eyes of Nathaniel… not Nate. But green eyes so like his friends, only flat with the loss of hope. Darien smiled at the man, not even sure what his name was, and he wasn't sure where he was, only that he had been here for almost two years. He had started marking the days on the wall keeping track. The first few months he had done it in hopes that they would be rescued, and slowly the hope had died until he was sure that his eyes were as flat and empty as the rest of his cell mates.

The sound of foot steps caused everyone to look up, fear stark in their eyes. They were coming again. Would they once more drag off some of the people in the cell to their deaths? Darien struggled to a sitting position, the ever present pain in his stomach almost causing him to faint; he took shallow breaths as he stared through the bars at the Nazi's that stood there. His pulse sped up as they unlocked the door and moved in guns pointed at them.

"Los aufstehen ihr amerikanischen Schweine," one of the guards said.

Darien and the others moved to stand. He swayed and the man next to him with green eyes caught his arm. He smiled a thanks then looked up at the guards again wondering what they were going to do with them.

"Bewegt euch!" The same guard said motioning them from the cell with the barrel of his rifle.

With slow, painful movements, the prisoners began to shuffle from the cell that had been their home for the past two years. Darien stumbled slightly and fell to one knee, the impact jarred through his bones like a hundred sharp needles and he knelt there trying to catch his breath. The guard moved up behind him and shoved him hard with the barrel of the gun, causing Darien to fall forward. His head cracked into the cement floor.

"Beweg dich!"

Darien lay panting, grey spots dancing in front of his eyes, "Tu es einfach, du wirst uns doch sowieso alle umbringen," he muttered, a small cynical smile on his lips. Two years in a POW camp had taught him a forgien language. Wouldn't his father be proud?

"Steh auf! Beweg dich!" The guard said, jamming the barrel of the gun into his back again.

Darien sighed softly and painfully moved to his feet again and started to follow the line from the prison. Bright morning sunlight strained his eyes, causing them to water painfully; he wished that the guard had killed him like he had asked. He had no hope of actually seeing Serena's face again. The guards moved the line of prisoners out of the camp and into the woods, They marched single file through the woods, some stumbling from time to time.

Darien's own body felt like lead, the ever present hunger pains causing him to become light headed and dizzy. His eyes streamed in the light of day after having been in the dank smelly cell for so long. His smell and the smell of his fellow prisoners caused his nose to burn. Finally he swayed, dizziness overwhelming him, and he stopped. He couldn't go on further. The guard shoved him again with the riffle and he fell once more to his knees. He slowly slid to the ground on his face, inhaling bugs from the leaves as he collapsed.

"Beweg dich!"

"I can't move anymore…" Darien mumbled into the leaf covered forest floor.

Suddenly the forest was filled with bursts of gunfire and the cracks of rifle shots, and for one horror filled moment, Darien was sure the Nazi's had lead them out to the forest to kill them. He turned his head to the side and his eyes widened to see the guard that had been shoving him dead at his side. Darien's lips curled into a small smile. The rescue had come after all. Slowly, his body went limp on the forest floor and he lost consciousness.

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Four months later, London

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Darien walked down the street, glancing at the piece of paper held in his hand. It had a single address on it. He flexed his left arm and bit back a groan of pain. Though it had been injured when the plane had gone down, it never healed properly. He only had about thirty percent use of it. He paused outside a seedy looking townhouse then looked up and down the street wondering if he had the right address.

He moved slowly up the steps favoring his right leg a cane clasped in his right hand, and lifted a fist to knock on the hard wooden door. It opened to reveal a woman with bright red hair and chocolate brown eyes, Darien looked down at her, sadness swelling in his heart.

"'ello?" the woman asked staring up at the man in an American military uniform.

"H-hello… I was looking for Serena Thomas, I guess I have the wrong address." He said in a shaky voice, and turned to go.

The woman's hand shot out and caught his sleeve. "No, she lives here, sir. I'll take you to her."

Hope filled Darien's midnight colored eyes as he removed his hat and limped slowly after the woman across the entrance way. She knocked on a set of double doors and opened them, ushering him passed her. Darien moved into the room and blinked back the blinding light that filled the room.

"Who aur you, sir?" a childlike voice said with an enchanting lisp.

Darien looked down into eyes the same midnight blue as his and a face that could have been his done in girl features. He knelt slowly, ignoring the pain in his body, and smiled widely at the girl.

"My name is Darien Shields, and who would you be, poppet?" He asked gently.

The girl broke into a wide grin, blond curls bouncing around her head. "My name ish Renee Anabelle Shields and I am this many old." She announced then proudly, holding up three fingers.

Darien's heart seemed to freeze in his chest at the little girl's announcement. His eyes quickly searched the room, looking for Serena. Finally, he found her standing across the room near the picture windows. Her sapphire hued eyes wide with shock and a trembling hand rose to her mouth. Darien stared across the expanse of the room then leaned down and planted a kiss on the small girl's curly head.

"Darien…?" Serena's shaking voice came to him.

"Sere…"

Serena stared at what surely had to be a ghost and took a stumbling step forward, with a small cry she took another and soon found herself caught up in Darien's strong arms. She clung to him, sobbing brokenly as she started to pepper his face with kisses and she ran her hands over his body as if to make sure he was real.

"Darien, tell me you're here… tell me I'm not dreaming… tell me that I won't wake up alone and cold in my bed," Serena sobbed.

Darien closed his eyes tightly and hugged Serena all the closer, tears streaming down his face. How often had he dreamed of this moment in the past years? How much had he dreamed that he would see his Serena again before he died?

"I'm here, Sere. I'm here to stay," he whispered harshly against her temple.

A tug at Serena's skirt caused her to look down at her daughter. She looked down, wiping her eyes softly.

"Mama, who ish dis man?" Renee asked in her child's sweet voice.

Serena laughed softly and knelt. Lifting Renee into her arms, she smiled at her through her tears. "Poppet, this is your daddy."

Renee frowned softly and looked at Darien again, "You are?" She asked in a serious voice.

Darien swallowed and glanced at Serena, all the love he had ever felt shining in his eyes, then he glanced to the small child and nodded. "I am, poppet. Do you think I can hold you for a while?" He asked in a shaking voice.

Renee tilted her head to the side and nodded. "Okay," she said and held her arms out to Darien.

Darien gathered his daughter in to his arms and cuddled her soft body to him, inhaling her sweet child scent. He wrapped his left arm around Serena's shoulders and pulled her into the hug as well.

"I'm here now," he whispered against their temples.

"Forever…?" Serena asked in a tear clogged voice.

"Forever…." Darien affirmed, holding them all the tighter.


End file.
